Point of View

BERKELEY —
As thousands of people lined the streets of San
Francisco on April 9, hoping to pay tribute
to the Olympic torch or to protest policies of
the Chinese government, the NewsCenter asked students
on Sproul Plaza for their thoughts on
the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

The Olympics are one of the
most important world bonding events we do
peacefully, so I would be opposed to us not
going to the Olympics at all. I've
heard talk of not attending the opening ceremonies
in protest. That would be a good show of
faith — to the fact that China does
create a lot of human atrocities — and
still be able to participate in the games
to bring us together as world community.

Yet between Tibet,
Taiwan, Sudan, China is not the most friendly
country right now. If people want to go out
and protest, that's
definitely their right. I don't support
aborting the games completely, but I support
the right to get out there and protest.

My parents are from mainland
China; they were raised in the Cultural Revolution.
My father did not have a good experience
with the Communist Party in China; neither
did my mom. Yet they raised me with loyalty
to the Chinese government, even though they
themselves have a mixed view of it.

In my time at Berkeley, I've actually
been exposed to a lot of other ideas about
China, about [its policy on] Taiwan and Tibet
especially. In my internship right now, I'm
actually working with some Tibetans who are
seeking political asylum in the U.S., because
of human-rights abuses going on in
China.

So I don't want to say anything against
the Chinese people. I identify very strongly
as being Chinese. I love Chinese people;
I love Chinese food; I love Chinese culture.
I speak Chinese, I've been to China
three times. I want to feel loyalty to China.
But the Chinese government right now — especially
with regard to Sudan, and Tibet, and Taiwan — I
can't support them. Which is hard for
me to say. I guess my moral convictions are
stronger than any nationalist feeling.

It's good that China
gets to host the Olympics; it's the
first time it's ever done such
a big event. The protesters have a legitimate
reason for protesting — Tibet and all
the things happening over there. It's
been known for a long time how China doesn’t
have the best rights for its citizens.

I don't agree with the Parisian protest,
trying to extinguish the flame, people being
really aggressive. It's one thing to
have a peaceful protest; it’s another
thing to have a full-on riot.... If
the Olympic Committee foresaw protests happening,
they maybe shouldn't have picked Beijing
as the Olympic site.

— Alvin Vong,
senior, integrative biology
Hometown: Daly City

I think it's legitimate that the
protests are happening right now, and I’m
really pleased with what happened in Paris.
I think protesting is the only way that we’re
going to show the Chinese government that
it’s not OK to restrict freedom of
the press, it's not OK to restrict
human rights. With the "Great Fire
Wall" they have, you can’t even
Google the word "democracy."

There's also problems with detentions
and how they treat their own citizens and
how police force and coercive force is executed
by the government. Also their oil deals with
Sudan — I think that's absolutely
unforgivable. Additionally, China's
environment standards are also really deplorable.
For example, it hasn't banned chlorofluorocarbons
(CFCs). We think "Oh, nobody uses CFCs
anymore." But as China continues to
industrialize, their air conditioners use
CFCs.

I support the Olympics in
China and I think it's really cool
that they're having it there. I know
a lot of students here at Berkeley also support
the Olympics. My parents were born in China.
I don't know the basis for the protests.

The true sense of the Olympics
is fair play, athletic skill. I don’t
think protest against China has a place in
the Olympics. It's not something that's
based around something political. It’s
a common bond between people. People here
play basketball; people there play basketball.
It's just athletics.

Of course human rights in China is a shaky
subject. But that's true of every country.
If you go to India, it's the biggest
democracy, but they have plenty of riots,
ethnic violence. And if you go to the America,
there's still racism today. Every place
has its problems, and China is in its development
stage right now, so the government is in
a more authoritarian rule. That's how
it's going to be for now. And then
everything progresses. Over time the human-rights
aspect will be identified; it takes place
over time.